'Call of Duty' player becomes victim of 'swatting'

After a 'Call of Duty' player lost a game against a New York teen, he made a hoax call to the authorities in retaliation. (Source: Activision/MGN Online)

(RNN) – When a SWAT team surrounded his Long Beach, NY home on Tuesday, 17-year-old Raphael Castillo became the victim of ‘swatting,' or using false reports to trick emergency services into responding to a bogus emergency situation.

A prank caller, pretending to be Castillo, called the local authorities via Skype, claiming that he had killed his mother and "might shoot more people," according to a New York Post article.

Castillo had spent the day shooting, in the virtual sense, other players of the online video game Call of Duty. Apparently one of his opponents became upset that he lost and threatened to 'swat' Raphael.

As a result of the prank call, numerous police officers, emergency vehicles, and a SWAT team swarmed the home. A two-hour standoff ensued.

When they were finally able to speak with Raphael's mother, Maria, they learned that there was no shooting and realized they'd been the victim of a prank.

Raphael never heard the commotion, because he was inside wearing headphones, still playing video games.

A police officer on the scene said that the person who called in the hoax "was probably just an evil little kid."

Authorities say that if they find out who made the call, he will be arrested.